The Heliocliff and Planetarium

Word went out this week that Voyager 1, launched in 1977 and carrying the Golden Record of eclectic sounds from Earth.... now approx 11 billion miles from the sun and traveling at a speed of  636 miles a minute.... had just entered interstellar space. This theory was promptly debunked by NASA. Apparently at the time of writing Voyager is still in our solar system, presumed to have entered an in-between space in space,  the newly recognized Heliocliff, the edge of the Heliosphere.

Of course there is no useful identifying ribbon to breach and no photographic record. Images such as those of Jupiter and Saturn are a thing of the past as the cameras were turned off in 1990. The interstellar space welcoming party will sadly not be available on YouTube.

Suitably celestial windows at BAM's cafe level, never so appropriate. 

Also this week, by the sort of meaningless co-incidence that appeals to me greatly, we went to a performance of Planetarium at BAM, the Brooklyn Academy of Music. I've been SO excited about this I've felt like a child waiting for Christmas. Commissioned by the Barbican in London, the Sydney Opera House and some highbrow people in Holland you've never heard of, it sounds like a modern take on Holst's Planets. Kind of, yes. There's a song for the sun, the moon and all the planets, including poor old Pluto. It's a collaboration of Indie royalty, if you'll pardon the cliche, gone electronic classical: Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly and Bryce Dressner,  plus orchestra. Perhaps not everyone's cup of tea but I loved it.

The 30 foot diameter hovering orb, centerpiece of a constantly changing light display.  

As all these things can be looked up on Wikipedia I will just give my personal take on Sufjan. It's very, very hard to get tickets to see him! He's a quiet celebrity, there's no hype, no publicity, there's no big personality onstage. There's a mind boggling visual element in his concerts and it's an instant sellout whenever word of mouth gets around that he's performing. The experience of seeing him is so much larger than any art installation, so overwhelming, I have no better word than that useful British term "gobsmacked"!

Here are some photos I took, to everyone around me's understandable annoyance. They can't begin to convey the 60 minute brilliant kinetic onslaught, but I'm glad I got them. 

After covering the solar system so thoroughly what could be left for an encore? Why, Somewhere Over The Rainbow of course..... perfect!

When the evening was over we were plummeted straight back out into the harsh reality of grungey NY.

Our daughter Chloe and Dan, sitting opposite us on the subway. We wouldn't dream of going without them!

Central Park and a tale of 3 rinks

We had cause for a family celebration last week (our daughter got a new job!) and David had to work in NY, so I tagged along on his business trip. Another incentive was a recent snowfall. Central Park is beautiful in any season, but, for me, the snowy winter days are the best.

It's the scale of the thing that's so arresting, as I think these photographs show.... the people look tiny. You can feel overawed by it. For a start the park itself is massive considering how small Manhattan is, 843 acres. Then there's the height and maturity of the trees, the hilliness and variation in the landscape and of course the fringe of skyscrapers all around the horizon, which you see far more of in winter. Walking round in snow, bundled up in a big wool coat reminds me of the atmosphere of old Woody Allen movies (back in the days when I still admired him) It remains a picture of a life in America I would love to be living..... imagine an apartment with this view!

One evening we did a circular walk from the hotel, taking in the 3 outdoor skating rinks within 15 blocks of each other. It was useful to have a goal rather than wandering aimlessly around. No intention of skating, I'm not up for that, though David probably would if only he had a more agile companion!

Woolman Rink, Central Park, a white light

There's a fairly subdued atmosphere here in the park . A few people doing jumps in an area coned off in the center. I would probably pick this location above the others though, for all the reasons stated above.

The Rockefeller Center, a golden glow 

The iconic Rockefeller rink, between 5th and 6th Ave, is still a sight to behold without the Christmas tree and blaze of lights. It wasn't very busy. We got there as the zamboni was resurfacing the ice. As we waited for the skaters to come back and make a more interesting photograph for us it began to snow,  so we moved quickly on.

Bryant Park, a pink extravaganza

On 42nd St, just behind the NY Library is Bryant Park. That's the Empire State Building lit up in the background. There was quite a party atmosphere here,  much busier, colored lights and louder music. People were having a really good time! This would definitely be the one to choose for the fun factor but lacking the beauty of the park or the grandeur of the Rockefeller.

You couldn't miss this guy hamming it up for the public. His skates had flashing lights and he danced slowly round the rink posing for photos en route. I googled FloNess  later and found a few UTube videos of him. He frequents the rinks in winter and the rollerblade areas in summer, equally bizarrely dressed.

This walkway usually looks so tasteful!

Off the ice rink topic, but right in there with the lighting theme, I have to throw this picture in too as the colors struck me as so delicate. Walked past the Bergdorf Goodman windows on 5th Avenue en route from the park to the Rockerfeller Center, thinking they would be a disappointment after the Holiday ones have been dismantled. But no, they were lovely. The theme is novels and this was Animal Farm.

We the shivering people

January 21st marked 2 important occasions,  Barack Obama's second Inauguration and Martin Luther King Day. How very appropriate. As we live in the Virginia suburbs of Washington DC it seems a shame to miss the festivities, but when it comes to mustering up the energy to face the crowds and cold it helps if you're enthusiastic about the result of the election. So we went, of course!

Apart from the very lucky or socially well connected who sit in ticketed areas, it's a question of standing for hours on end in the company of around a million other people in near freezing conditions, watching the proceedings on one of the many giant tv screens. There's always a moment when it crosses my mind it might be a lot more comfortable to be watching at home with a glass of wine. The atmosphere is fantastic though, it's like a big multicultural citywide party. Even if,  as we experienced this time,  the audio and visuals waver and fluctuate in the high wind like an old am radio connection. It could have caused an angry crowd response under the circumstances but everyone behaved impeccably, straining to see, straining to hear and cheering wildly at the sight of Obama, Biden, Clinton, Beyonce, James Taylor.... anyone, really.  After all, we knew it would be on CNN ad nauseam when we got back to our hotel rooms so we could find out later what they actually said. For now it was just enough to stand shoulder to shivering shoulder, being there.

A glimpse of the White House from where we were standing

After the ceremony there's quite a long break while the President and co have a beautiful lunch before the other main event, the parade. The masses who have staked out their places on the parade route since the early morning presumably eat a sandwich as they stoically wait it out. I just don't know how they endure it, I know I couldn't. No photo of them as the whole area is barricaded off. There are only a few streets open to pedestrians and a larger area is closed to traffic. It makes you think how nice it would be if the whole downtown was pedestrianized.

Buses barricading the roads. How very practical!

We walked back into the city along with a few thousand others, heading for our hotel.

Got enough buttons?

This guy was bouncing along on springy stilts. 

Our cups runneth over. There was quite an orderly air about everything, even the insufficient trash cans

Now this is how I like to watch a parade......

....... while David gets back down to business as usual. 

The turn-down service treat at the hotel, instead of the usual chocolate

Back outside.....  Pennsylvania Ave still a car free zone 

Did I mention it was cold?! 

I haven't commented on the content of Barack Obama's speech, Michelle baring arms, or any of the serious content. Plenty of others will. This was just our rather low key but thoroughly enjoyable experience of an unforgettable day.

An exciting sighting.... Robert E Simon

Today marks the 35th anniversary of the opening of Reston's Used Book Store, an early investor in this "planned community". As we are about to see the demise of our lovely big Barnes and Noble after already losing Borders, Books A Million and Brentanos, it will once again become Reston's only bookstore. (What's left to say about our collective angst in the face of this terminal bookshop disease? I've joined the petition, much good may it do.)

Anyway, at the pleasant little in-store celebration complete with dulcimer player, tasteful looking snacks and discount on all purchases, who should show up but Robert E Simon, the Res in Reston. Local hero, the father of our fair town. I was ready and waiting, camera in hand, hoping he would come. The last time I spotted him he was walking with assistance and deep in conversation, so bounding over to shake his hand seemed inappropriate.

Looking good for 98 years old! I read somewhere he attributes longevity to a gin martini every day. I only wish wine would have such a good effect on me.

Born in 1914, Robert E Simon used proceeds from his family's sale of Carnegie Hall in NY to purchase land 18 miles from Washington DC in Northern Virginia. He had a somewhat utopian ideal for the community that would eventually emerge. Such vision and commitment! But also it had to be a financially viable venture. He intended it to be a place that would be diverse in terms of race and income level, somewhere everyone could live, work and play without commuting. Plenty of open space had to be conserved. Artists would come. These were radical ideas for suburban New Town planning in 1961. No strictly middle class enclave of cookie cutter houses, Reston.

It's worked out pretty well, considering the choppy waters that have flowed under the bridge since then.  More on that maybe another time. Back to Mr Simon. Here he sits cast in bronze and wearing his trademark hat outside the bookstore at Lake Anne, the area deemed "historic Reston" to our amusement as Europeans, and where his plans first began to take shape. He lives here now in the end years of his life in the high rise apartment building on the right, overlooking the lake and with a birds-eye-view of his legacy..... the eclectic mix of concerts, organic markets, ukulele festivals and the like that we enjoy throughout the year thanks to him.

Robert E Simon at Lake Anne in the '60s.

Hope springs temporal... Great With Ham

I'm no wine snob, I just happily drink it, but really, Wholefoods, "Great with ham" as an endorsement of sparkling wine?! If only I'd had my camera! Well I did have my phone so I suppose it was just social awkwardness that stopped me recording my enjoyment. There were quite a few of us around the mock champagne aisle on New Year's Eve, scrutinizing the bottles in the busy Reston store. Oh for something recognizable, I don't care if Its Korbel or Moet. All so esoteric and obscure, organic this and imported that, we only have your say-so to rely on and you give us pointers like "great with ham"?! I almost bought a bottle out of curiosity, what does it taste like, green eggs? Pineapple?

Anyway, I was in Wholefoods to pick up a can of black eyed peas, not ham. Having lived 4 years in Texas I've adopted the idea that it's extremely important to eat them on New Years Day to ensure everything goes well in the forseeable future. Some years it seems to have worked, others not so much.  I follow the Mennonite recipe in More With Less, lots of cumin and brown sugar along with the magic triangle of onions, celery and carrots, simmered in those all important tomatoes. Welcome delicious New Year, full of good resolutions and unknown possibilities....

According to Wikipedia this black eyed peas superstition/belief is recorded in the Talmud.  Jewish settlers brought it to Georgia in the 1730s. It became mainstream Southern food at the time of the Civil War, possibly because the marauding Northerners stripped them of all resources except black eyed peas which they considered hog-food. Lucky, eh?!

Here's to 2013! I have tidied my studio, cleared the decks of the results of procrastination, given myself both a stern talking to and the all important encouraging word, and now I'm all set to have a good year. All the best to you too!

Spirited giving

Hot on the heels of Christmas in America comes the barrage of frenzied last minute appeals by mail and email from any charity you've ever given to, theater you've subscribed to, museum you became a member of, hospital you've had an appointment at and dear friend who's dedicating their life to a worthy mission. There's a tax break for charitable contributions here and we can benefit from that until the last day of the year. Inducements come in the form of heartbreaking stories of need and suffering to the gift of a free stamp.

My impulse has always been to give stuff away rather than to sell it. Even in the penniless hippie days things passed easily through my fingers. Then in our early 20s David and I ambled innocently into the evangelical, charismatic kind of churches that teach that tithing 10% of your net income is just the law-given baseline starting point, complete with the curse of Malachi if you "rob God" (yes, really!) According to that teaching you don't officially start giving anything until you've fulfilled your tithe obligation.  Our psychological waters were seriously muddied on the subject for many years as a result.

I'm drawn to movements now that encourage you to give freely and annonymously. I like the lightheartedness of leaving books for strangers to find....  www.bookcrossing.com and the free mini libraries cropping up all over the world in mailbox sized replicas of a one roomed schoolhouse on a "take one, leave one" basis .....  www.littlefreelibrary.org.

I belong to a lovely group of enthusiastic givers on Facebook called Art Abandonment. The premise is much like book crossing but with art work. You leave something you've made in a public place. It has a label informing the recipient what the group is about and encouraging them to email the facilitator, then their response is posted on the group page. It's just for fun, hopefully spreading a little happiness here and there.

It's hard to give something away for free, people are wary. Even I balked slightly at finding this wheatgrass in Central Park in the summer. David was all for taking it but we were staying in a hotel and about to go home on the train. It didn't seem at all practical to me so we left it for someone else. But more than that..... I experienced that uneasy, suspicious feeling that maybe it was a set up of some kind. Maybe we were being secretly filmed and our reactions would show up on UTube. But no, I looked it up later and sure enough it's another nice under-groundswell group,  nyc.garden-in-a-cup.org

On Christmas Eve we had tickets for a Broadway show that we were unable to get to, another of my mess-ups.  We didn't like to think of them being wasted so we approached a few people in the park, trying to give them away. Of course this is hopeless! Everyone's suspicious, thinking there must be a catch or that you're just another hustler, no matter how early on in the conversation you insert the words "free" and "give away".  I would probably react exactly the same. In the end we resorted to leaving them on a park bench in the hope that just the right people would come along and be curious and trusting enough to pick them up.

                                                    I don't suppose we'll ever know!

No fixed abode Christmas

For the last several years we've spent Christmas in hotels in order to be near our daughter who lives in a small apartment in Astoria, Queens. Her job as an art therapist in the healthcare industry hasn't provided her with enough time off to accommodate a trip down to Virginia. As both our families are in England, unless we face up to the idea of transatlantic travel at peak Holiday times our alternative is to be home alone. The one year we did that I very much regretted it. It's a lot of fun to be in NY at Christmas and we're lucky to be able to go, but increasingly we feel strangely ungrounded. I'm looking forward to actually moving there next year (can't say that without adding a quick chorus of God willing, if all goes well, hopefully etc) No matter how tiny our apartment is we'll darned well have ourselves a tree and I'm cooking dinner!

This year I remembered to take markers and whiled away some time drawing Christmassy sort of mandalas 

I've learned to bring a few touches of home to the hotel,  ornaments, lights, mince pies and so on, and we have managed to maintain one important family tradition.... the Christmas jigsaw puzzle.

The iconic trees and decorations are at the Rockerfeller Center 

but we also appreciated these distinctly less tasteful ones on 6th Ave for their fine reflective quality. It rained quite a bit!

The Salvation Army danced joyfully along to musical soundtracks this year, blasted out of speakers at their feet. This lady at Rockerfeller Plaza got everyone singing and dancing with her, she had just the right happy face and attitude for it.

You've got to admire the dedication to making an impression when it comes to hauling a grand piano into Washington Square Park. Hope it paid off.

Whole blog posts elsewhere are devoted to Bergdorf Goodman's amazing windows. The theme this year was BG Follies, very art deco. This was my favorite outfit, a little more punk than most .... she has green satin lined leggings under an embroidered velvet cocktail dress and long green leather opera gloves to match her boots. And of course, the perfect companion!

Our miniature decorations, complete with British telephone kiosk ornament from Liz and Alan

David embraces the spirit of Christmas after a helpful mimosa or two for breakfast!